Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Indy’s Daily Sports List – Top 10 Super Bowl storylines we will be sick & tired of

Generational and cultural comparisons between Cam Newton and Peyton Manning are going to drive Super Bowl hype.

It’s said that if you have a million monkeys punching keys on a million typewriters for a million years, one of them is going to peck out a masterpiece. The closest humans come to proving that axiom is the Super Bowl – minus the masterpiece part.

Thousands of journalists will descend on the Bay Area next week armed with laptops and limited imaginations. They will unleash a torrent of content so similar in tone and topicality that it will be nearly impossible to discern one post from another.

It would be more efficient and certainly less tedious for media consumers if the NFL credentialed only one journalist for the Super Bowl, but more is always better if the world of professional football, so we need to steel ourselves for the deluge of virtually identical previews and sidebars that will fill websites, newspapers, Sportscenter, and sportstalk radio over the next 10 days.

Here are the Top 10 overblown storylines for the most overhyped sporting event in history:

10 – Prop bets. We love to gamble on the Super Bowl. Over one billion dollars will be legally and illegally wagered on the big game, and while a significant chunk will involve a straight bet on the result of the game, much of the cash will be won or lost based upon props – the coin flip, length of the National Anthem, the method of the first score, who scores, and dozens of harebrained notions we will hear about ad nauseum prior to the game.

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9 – Media Day morons. The Tuesday before the Super Bowl is Media Day. Everyone with a credential will descend on Levi Stadium for an opportunity to quiz the participants. Some will ask serious questions as they try to get players and coaches to reveal a perspective that brings clarity to the event. Others will dress in bikinis and ask outrageous and/or insipid questions in an effort to become part of the story themselves. Remember, in today’s journalism, it’s not about quality of the content, but the number of clicks it generates.

8 – Are the Panthers the next dynasty? This question is asked about every young team as they prep for their first Super Bowl. Young quarterback plus dominating defense equals a decade of excellence, according to the big brains who cover the NFL. Forget that the Seahawks, 49ers, Giants, and Colts all failed to live up to those expectations, it’s still something to write that editors will accept as reasonable work product. There have been dozens of teams earmarked for sustained greatness, but since the AFC/NFC merger only the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s, San Francisco 49ers of the 1980s, Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s, and New England Patriots of the 2000s have made it.

7 – Ron Rivera is the second Hispanic coach is Super Bowl history. There is nothing wrong with Panthers coach Ron Rivera being proud of his heritage, or former Oakland Raiders/Seattle Seahawks coach Tom Flores (the other Hispanic coach to lead a team into the Super Bowl) congratulating Rivera. It will be nice when we no longer care about the genealogy of a player/coach. How many Jewish coaches have won a Super Bowl? How many Irishmen? No idea. Let’s get there.

6 – Hey look, it’s the old white guy against the young black kid! Yes, the age gap between Peyton Manning and Cam Newton is the largest in history. Yes, Manning is white while Newton is African-American. Yes, Newton dabs, and Manning looks like a candidate to host a cable access line dance show in Arkansas. We get it.

5 – Manning needs a win to solidify his standing as an all-time great. If the Broncos lose, Manning will be 1-3 in Super Bowls and have a losing career record in the playoffs. But the guy has set or approached every meaningful passing record in NFL history, taken two teams to multiple Super Bowls (the only QB to ever do that), and he won’t going to be one of the best 20 football players on the field. If the Broncos win, it will be the defense that wins it. Like all quarterbacks, Manning will get too much credit for a win and too much blame for a loss. His legacy is already written.

4 – Comparisons between the 1985 Chicago Bears and the 2015 Carolina Panthers. Rivera is the current coach of the Panthers and was a back-up linebacker for the Bears, and this is the 30th anniversary of the Bears run through the NFL to become Super Bowl XX champs. That flimsy set of circumstances will allow lazy hacks to opine about the difference between the defenses, flamboyant QBs, and coaches. It’s silly, but that’s what gets churned during this monotonous two-weeks.

3 – Can Manning duplicate his boss’s exit as a winner? John Elway was the last starting quarterback to retire after winning a Super Bowl. Elway is Manning’s boss. Elway and Manning were both drafted by the Colts. This is very likely Manning’s last game. That’s plenty of meat to hang 600 words of fluff around.

2 – Newton’s unique celebrations. Not since the Icky Shuffle has a Super Bowl featured a more celebrated celebration than Newton’s Dab. Is The Dab over the top? Does dancing show Newton is more focused on himself than teammates? Is Newton a self-promoter or a quarterback? Does Newton believe he’s bigger than the game? The real question driving this insipid and narrow-minded celebration inquisition is what’s that black guy think he’s doing? Doesn’t he know his place? Let’s call a racially motivated rant what it is.

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1 – Is this Manning’s “last rodeo”? Whether Manning has one more game of greatness will be the nostalgic angle that dwarfs all others. The almost 40-year-old has endured multiple neck and knee surgeries to allow him to continue a career in the game he loves. After the Broncos AFC Championship win, Manning whispered to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, “This might be my last rodeo.” The rodeo metaphor will be ridden into the ground until it hits bedrock. The narrative is a compelling part of the hype for Super Bowl L, but it is going to become miserable to endure.

Indy’s Morning Sports List – 10 reasons why Indiana lost at Wisconsin last night

Nigel Hayes shoots over Collin Hartman in last night’s Indiana loss at Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)

Indiana held serve through its first seven Big Ten games against sub-par team this season – a season where coach Tom Crean is fighting to keep his job despite the gravity of fan dissatisfaction.

Early season losses to Wake Forest, UNLV, and Duke showed the same variety of difficulties (defensive deficiencies in both scheme and ability – and sloppy turnovers) that rendered the Hoosiers irrelevant nationally over the past two seasons.

James Blackmon Jr.’s season ending injury forced Crean to put a lineup on the floor that appeared to flourish, leading the Hoosiers to a 7-0 record conference record, and brought three wins by 25+ points in their last four games.

Expectations for Indiana skyrocketed, and instead of fans asking whether IU was going to make the NCAA Tournament, they turned their attention to how far they might go in March.

Then came last night’s loss to Wisconsin, an overtime defeat that was nothing to be ashamed of. Expectations have again shifted for fans who remain unsold on Tom Crean’s ability to return the Hoosiers to college basketball’s elite. Continue reading →

Indy’s Morning Sports List – 10 reasons to love the IU Basketball walk-ons (and all walk-ons)

Harrison Niego was a hell of a good high school basketball player in Western Springs, IL. Now, if you watch closely, you see him play for the love of the game at Indiana.

You see them every game at the end of the bench, cheering for their teammates. They enthusiastically greet the starters and key subs every timeout.

Every once in awhile – a little bit more often recently as IU has won three of its last four by at least 25 points – they get a couple of minutes of playing time.

They are the guys who signal the game is well in hand when they report to the scorer’s table, and give fans an opportunity to beat traffic by making an early escape from Assembly Hall.

None get scholarship money, a stipend for expenses, nor the faintest hope of a future gig in the NBA playing for millions of dollars. They are the walk-ons – young men who work tirelessly for the love of the game and nothing more.

At Indiana, Ryan Burton, Harrison Niego, Jackson Tharp, and Quentin Taylor are the walk-ons. Burton and Niego get a little run with the game still on the line, but most come off the bench the last minute or two of a game that has gotten out of hand. They get the mop up minutes, and none for the glory of old IU.

Here are 10 reasons to keep your seats at the end of blowouts to watch these hard working young men play a little bit:

10 – Walking on is truly a 60+ hour a week commitment without compensation. The thing with walk-ons is that they either love the work or they don’t stick around very long. They are not priorities for the coaches in the same way the scholarship players are, and that’s okay because very few walk-ons ever impact a coach’s ability to hang onto his job. Remember that old Smith Barney commercial that said, “The reward for hard work is more hard work!”? That echoes in the heads of walk-ons. Continue reading →

Indy’s Morning Sports List – 10 reasons to be fascinated and/or awed by Peyton Manning’s last dance

Peyton Manning won his third AFC Championship in four tries against Tom Brady in Denver yesterday.

Peyton Manning is claimed by a number of teams and cities, but Indianapolis is where he did the great majority of his NFL work, so people here will be paying close attention the next 13 days as he prepares for his ride into a glorious sunset – or so his fans hope.

Manning’s body has failed him often over the past five years, resulting in multiple back surgeries, plantar fascia issues, and a decided lack of velocity on his passes. It appeared that Manning would limp off the field for the last time as so many great quarterbacks before him – a loser who was the last to realize the magic was gone.

Not so fast. Manning has shown an uncanny ability to do just enough to put points on the board for an Broncos offense overshadowed by the tenacity and ferocity of its defense.

He’s a game manager now, but a great one. In yesterday’s win against the New England Patriots, Manning threw two touchdown passes to no picks while Tom Brady dealt two picks with one TD. That was the difference in the game.

If Hollywood was able to script Super Bowl L, Manning would leave the field for the final time a hero – a champion – a winner.

Here are the 10 reasons to be fascinated by Manning in this Super Bowl:

10 – Manning is now 3-1 vs. Tom Brady/Bill Belichick in AFC Championship games. Manning has won the last three matchups with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line against Tom Brady. If Brady and Belichick had been able to vanquish Manning, the Patriots record in super bowls would be incredible, but because Manning was just a little too good at all the right moments, no one is going to confuse them with the Steeler of the 1970s or the 49ers of the 1980s. Continue reading →

Indy’s Morning Sports List – Top eight favorite Manning vs. Brady games

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have been this generation’s best known NFL players and rivals.

Sunday afternoon, the two biggest NFL stars of the last 20 years will match up for the 17th and (likely) final time in the AFC Championship.

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are two of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, and like all great rivals, matchups between the great leaders define their careers. It’s only fitting that a Super Bowl berth will be on the line the last time they share the field as warriors.

Ali had Frazier, Bird had Magic, Palmer had Nicklaus, and Chamberlain had Russell. And Sunday in Denver, Manning vs. Brady will slip from the current to the past like all those other great rivalries.

Brady holds the overall edge 11-5 in their previous 16 games, but in postseason games Manning and Brady are tied 2-2. There were reasons other than quarterback play that determined the winner in most of those games, but as the quarterbacks for the Patriots and Colts/Broncos, Manning and Brady are the faces of those 16 contests – as they will be this Sunday.

These lists are almost always the top 10, but in this case I make an exception as finding something to extoll among the 11 games Brady won for the Patriots a “favorite” or “best” was too miserable an exercise to undertake. I include three Brady wins because I’m a fair guy and during two of them I had a really good time for other reasons.

Here are my favorite eight moments or games that showed these two aging warriors at their best:

8 – January 18, 2004 – Postseason Round 1 between Manning & Brady. This was a terrible game that the Colts were never really in. Adam Vinatieri booted five field goals for the Pats, and Manning was sacked four times. This game is only on the list because I had a great time at the Broad Ripple Ale House watching with some new friends. One of them, a girl we called “Shuckey” cheered for the Patriots because she loathed domed stadiums and teams that played in them. As the Pats pulled away, I made sure my giant head totally blocked the screen so she couldn’t watch and taunt. Pats win 24-14. Continue reading →

Indy’s Morning Sports List – Top 10 reasons why Pike and Ben Davis girls hoops season should have been canceled

Disturbing images of the Ben Davis/Pike brawl have fueled public acceptance of season cancelation.

Unfortunate circumstances prompt unpleasant consequences. That’s what happened earlier this week when IHSAA commissioner Bobby Cox decided it was necessary to cancel the remainder of the season for the Ben Davis and Pike high school girls basketball teams because they indulged in a brawl during their game Saturday afternoon.

A brawl erupted among the players during the fourth quarter of their game last weekend, which was declared over at that point. Parents, fans, and others rushed the court, and fortunately no one was seriously hurt.

A similar circumstance occurred last year at Griffith High School where all hell broke loose during a boys game against Hammond. Cox canceled seasons then too, but a judge ruled against the IHSAA and the teams were allowed to play in the state tournament.

There continues to be great debate over the severity of the consequences for the Pike and Ben Davis programs. Here are 10 arguments in favor of Cox wielding a swift and heavy hammer:

10 – Needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Cox doesn’t have the disciplinary luxury to mete out penalties with exact equanimity for every infraction among the approximately 160,000 athletes he oversees. In foreign policy and athletics, the serious threat of a nuclear option serves as a serious disincentive – it either causes fear based compliance, a logical and safe response, or both.

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9 – For change to occur, the pain of change must be outweighed by the pain of staying the same. The cancelation of a season has brought great discomfort to the Ben Davis and Pike athletic departments, and the result will be a change in the actions of the teams at those schools because they now understand the consequence is not worth the act. The other 406 IHSAA member schools will also take note, and team meetings will take place where unacceptable and dangerous behavior will be discussed. Individual suspensions would not have induced the same discomfort or reflection.

8 – Adversity is a great teacher. There will be those Ben Davis and Pike players who decide to answer Cox by working with more focus to improve enough that Cox is forced to present her team with state championship medals next season. It’s likely some may drift from basketball because they feel the world is against them. A life is defined in large part by how each of us responds to adversity. High school is a great place to be presented with the opportunity to declare ourselves tough enough to succeed despite obstacles.

7 – Bobby Cox likes to sleep at night. If Cox neglected to act swiftly and severely, and another brawl followed with dire results – lifelong effects from injuries or death – Cox would never enjoy another good night sleep in his life. A month of hooping for two teams is a small price to pay to ensure compliance – and the resulting eight hours of rest every night.

6 – Programs not built on a foundation of education and fair play do not deserve the privilege to compete. There is no law guaranteeing the rights of a student or team to compete in high school athletics, so when a disregard for the culture of safe competition is shown by brawling, the response must communicate that privilege can be lost.

5 – There are 400+ high schools in Indiana who need a reminder. Knowing that Cox isn’t screwing around will get the attention of every other Indiana team in every other sport. It might not be entirely fair for those who didn’t participate in the brawl, but this disincentive might save another two or four teams from making the same mistake.

4 – Season cancelation mirrors real life consequences. When an employee at a company screws up, he or she should be fired to protect the company’s bottom line so other employees keep their gigs. When the majority of employees act against the interest of the company, bankruptcy is declared, buildings are sold or shuttered, and employees (even those who were competent) are scattered to the wind. This brawl mirrors the latter scenario.

3 – Coaches need to understand need to maintain order. Nothing serves as a more profound consequence than the cancelation of a season for the players and coaches. Knowing that a brawl will be met with quick and certain plug pulling will cause coaches to monitor the emotional tenor of their rosters more closely, and may result in intervention for those players who live on the edge between competitive zeal and real violence.

2 – Team punishment for multiple individual infractions is fair. While not everyone playing for Ben Davis and Pike participated in the riot, a season cancelation is a better and ultimately more fair option than declaring nine of 12 players ineligible and leaving the other three noncompetitive because they would be joined by JV team members.

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1 – More serious violence is a given. Players fight, parents protect. That’s the way parenting works, and at some point a parent is going to be armed. The next brawl might not begin with tempers flaring, and end with fists flying and hair being pulled. There could be shots fired, and the consequence won’t be a suspension but a funeral. Doing everything necessary to ensure that escalation does not take place is not only Cox’s job, but his moral mandate.

Indy’s Morning Sports List – Top 10 things I learned this morning from Antwaan Randle El

Antwan Randle El is one of IU’s all-time greats, and Hoosier fans got a scare yesterday when his memory lapses become public.

Antwaan Randle El is the latest NFL player with memory loss? It can’t be. Such a great Hoosier, and only 36 years old.

I saw the piece on Yahoo!, but needed to find out for myself.

One of the very coolest things about working in the media is that when I get curious about something, the answer is only a phone call away.

After a couple of calls to acquaintances, I was on the phone with Antwaan asking him about the reports.

The entire interview will air today at 4:15p on CBS Sport 1430 in Indianapolis, but what I learned about one of the most dynamic players in NFL history and a football/basketball/baseball player while earning his degree at IU, you can read below.

Here are 10 things I learned from my conversation with Randle El:

10 – Antwaan is all about education today. “I helped start Virginia Academy. I’m out here 40 miles outside of DC. It’s a private Christian school, so I get a chance to teach kids about Christ, and what it means to live for God. Knowing God, having an opportunity to get a great education, and be able to play ball I think is an awesome equation to help kids get over the hump to understand life.” Continue reading →

Indy’s Morning Sports List – Top 10 possible reasons for the Indiana Hoosiers 5-0 Big Ten start

Yogi Ferrell may have found the right combination of confidence and leadership – or maybe Indiana’s 5-0 start is the result of their schedule.

If Indiana beats Illinois tonight at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, the Hoosiers will have put together a 6-0 Big Ten start for the first time in the Tom Crean era.

There was a bit of panic among Hoosiers fans after a two-loss trip to Maui and a less than competitive trip to Duke, but Indiana has bounced back strong in what has been a wacky college basketball season so far.

Without a loss since that December 2 visit to Durham, Indiana fans are wondering just how Indiana has found a way to win 10 straight despite some clear limitations.

Here are the top 10 reasons Indiana is very likely to finish today with an 11th straight win:

10 – James Blackmon Jr. injury. It’s callous to suggest addition by subtraction has taken place following Blackmon’s knee injury, but there is no question the level of team defense has improved with Blackmon removed from the rotation. Blackmon is an elite shooter and scorer, but his defense has not been good since arriving in Bloomington. I don’t believe it’s a matter of effort for Blackmon, but an injury-driven lack of lateral quickness that keeps him from staying with his man. No blame assigned to Blackmon here, just an acknowledgement that Indiana is better defensively now than before Blackmon’s surgery. Continue reading →

Indy’s Morning Sports List – Top 10 necessary corrections of racism in sports

I’m a white guy from one of the whitest areas on the planet. The village of 5,000 where I grew up north of Chicago boasted exactly zero blacks. None. To say I am not an expert in the area of the challenges blacks face in succeeding in this country is a grotesque understatement. But I try to pay attention, learn, and apply what I see and hear toward those who are obviously affected in an adverse way by societal attitudes based upon skin color.

On this holiday, regardless of our backgrounds, we need to think about race. What can we do to ensure race is not a hinderance in leading a successful life when it’s already significantly difficult?

As a microcosm of our society, sports serves to level the playing field. It puts white guys from lily white suburbs in contact with blacks. My first contact with blacks was gained through Chicago pro athletes like Gale Sayers, Bob Love, Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, Chet Walker, and Fergie Jenkins. As the first season I can remember being a Cubs fan was ready to begin, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated outside his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

Racial prejudice has lessened – or at least recessed into dark corners – over these 47+ years, but there is still a long way to go before we enjoy anything resembling true equality.

Here are 10 problems that continue to exist in sports and society despite our best efforts to behave like adults without skin-tone based rancor:

10 – Fans continue to push buttons with racial insults. The idea isn’t necessarily for fans to betray ignorance, but to get under the skin of athletes so they don’t focus upon the task at hand. Race baiting is idiotic, but continues because it still occasionally generates the desired response. Continue reading →

Indy’s Morning Sports List – Top 10 reasons to go to an Indiana high school basketball game tonight

Southport’s Joey Brunk is headed to Butler next year. For a peek as to what kind of kid Chris Holtmann is getting, head to Southport tonight at 6p for the semis of the Marion County Tournament.

The Marion County Basketball Tournament continues tonight with semifinals at historic Southport Fieldhouse, and among those in the crowd will be many college coaches getting a look at the future of college hoops.

Through the next two months young men who have worked their entire lives to excel at basketball will put their skills and mettle to the test in front of thousands of peers, parents, and people looking for a fun and cheap way to enjoy a cold night in central Indiana.

Basketball is different from other sports in that fans are a few feet from the playing surface and the faces of the players aren’t hidden by hats or helmets. Every grimace, grin, and mouthed cuss word is visible to all.

While the state tournament might have changed from the one-class showcase made famous by “Hoosiers”, until March rolls around Indiana’s game is entirely unchanged from what we grew up with.

There are plenty of reasons to take in a game this weekend. In fact, here are 10 of them.:

10 – Watching coaches sweat. It seems ludicrous that the career path of an adult could hinge on whether a 15-year-old can knock down a free throw late in a game, but that’s exactly the world high school basketball coaches live in. High school administrators should be reasonable enough to understand the most important role a coach fills is as an educator, but plenty get fired for losing. Maybe it’s cruel to laugh at them stomping and cavorting on the sidelines, but I get a bang out of the silliness of the whole deal. Continue reading →